Itinerary and cost - India Trip

There are 2 types of people: the people who have been to India and the people who have not.  I always wanted to go to India, since it is an amazing country with great architectures (such as Taj Mahal), but I didn’t go until I am in my mid 30s… I have waited so long simply because I’ve heard that some parts of India are dirty and disorganized; I am one of those who are obsessed with cleanliness when it comes to washroom. However, I must go to India once in my life time. It is better to do it now than later, when I am still young.   

In the recent years, India started to have a bad reputation about raping women, even foreign tourists. Since my husband will stay at home to look after my 5 years old son, which means I will have to travel with 3 other women: my mom, Water who traveled with me to Greece and Turkey in 2014, and her friend Wing from South China (who later I learned their friendship just started when they found each other online and went to Iran together last year). As a group of 4 women, I have to be very careful to keep us safe. Also in order to reduce cost, I decided to use a local India travel agency to arrange the whole trip in a customized way as I chose.

There are no Indian local travel agency listed under tripadvisor, but there is a website called Incredible India, which is the official site of all the Indian travel agencies that are approved by the Indian government. After contacting more than 10 travel agencies listed there (I just randomly picked the ones located in New Delhi) with the itinerary I planned, 2 agencies stood out the crowd. Both of them offered similar low price, and their response to my emails are detailed and quick. They are Savion Travel Services and AG tours Pvt Ltd. I further negotiated the price and hotel selections with them by using company A’s offer against company B’s offer, and vice versa. We finally decided to use AG tours, just because their agent Ritu is more detailed which makes me felt safer, even though their price is about 50 US higher per person, and they do not accept credit card, we have to do bank transfers which is not that convenient.

Before we did the bank transfer, I asked 2 of my Indian colleagues to verify AG tours: one of them called Ritu and learned that the agency already has 14 years of history, and the other one sent his brother who lives in New Delhi to visit their office and learned it is a small company but legitimate. Gaurav from Savion Travel showed his professionalism after I turned down his offer, he kindly asked me why I didn’t choose his company, and after heard of my reasons, he agreed to improve, and wished us a good trip; he also offered us to contact him in case it is needed when we are in India. I would recommend both travel agencies for you to use, please note Ritu is a lady, originally I thought she is a guy, but it turned out that she is a beautiful young lady (we met in New Delhi).

After went through all the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of India, and top things to do in India by tripadvisor, I decided where to visit in India: New Delhi (Lotus Temple and the 3^rd largest Hindu temple in the world), Agra (Taj Mahal), Khajuraho (Sex Temple), Varnasi (River Ganges), Sarnath (Deer Park), Bodhgaya (Bodhi Tree), Udaipur (White/Lake City), Ranakpur (Jain Temple), Jodhpur (Blue City), and Amritsar (Golden Temple). I did evaluate the places in south India, but I felt like we will spend a lot of time and money but won’t gain much, so as you can see, all the places we visited are located in north India.

I also considered the option to go safari and see Indian tigers, but after reading many travel blogs, I decided not to waste our time to wait hours in a jeep for a tiger which may or may not show up. I also didn’t bother to include an elephant encounter in our trip, since elephants are everywhere in the world, it is not necessary to do this in India (I do not want to spend 2 days 1 night to go to another city just because of this). As you may notice, we didn’t go to the city Jaipur in the golden triangle along with New Delhi and Agra. The most famous place of Jaipur is the wind palace, which is just a pink wall with many windows to allow the king’s boring wives to peak outside but not been seen. We saw similar window designs in the Jodhpur Fort.

There are 4 ways to travel in India: bus, train, airplane and private transportation. To make our trip as clean as possible, we only used private transfers and flights. After some research, I found there are actually a lot of domestic flight options between the cities that we will visit, and the price is very cheap, one way tickets are below 100 USD per person. The only thing you need to pay attention is the price will keep going up if you don’t buy your tickets 6 months before. Since I have to coordinate with 4 people, we didn’t buy at the lowest price I saw, but still very cheap compared to the air tickets price within North America. AG Tours provided us a 7 seats van plus a driver for private transfer, if flight is not an ideal option. We ended up flying 7 times (excluding the international flights), drove long distance 3 times (4-6 hours), and visited 10 cities/towns during our 12 days India trip. Busy trip is always my style: use less time, spend less money to visit more places and see more things. Fortunately, my mom who is in her mid-60s survived the trip. She only caught a cold at the very end of the trip. J

Winter is cool and dry in India, a good time to travel, except the air pollution is worse, especially in January: flights may be cancelled due to the low visibility. Originally I wanted to travel in January since the hotel price is cheaper, but due to Water’s winter break schedule (she is a University professor), we travelled in early December instead. During our 12 days journey, only the last 2 days rained at night, so the umbrella I brought was not in use at all. New Delhi and Amritsar is a bit cooler, pants and long sleeves are better choices. For all the other places a no sleeve dress is prefect. Before I left for the trip, my Indian girlfriend was telling me to hide my shoulders and legs to reduce the safety risk, but it turned out I was very comfortable in my fancy dresses when I was in India. People are polite and proper. When Indian men asked me to take photos, they kept 10 cm distance away from my body, while Indian women may just grab my waist if I put my hands on their shoulders, lol.

I did not see many foreign tourists during the trip, except when we were in Taj Mahal. The majority tourists are Indians, or maybe they are just religion believers. Most sites have 2 level of entrance fees, Indians(e.g. 15 INR) pays much less than foreigners (e.g. 200 INR). I find this is fair, since as I observed, Indians are not as rich as I thought. For example, almost every person in China now has a smart phone, but half of the cell phone users I met in India are still using keypad phones. Also, in every 100 cars I saw in India, there maybe 1 or 2 luxury cars, such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes, or Jaguar. However, when I stepped out for lunch during my stay in Beijing before the India trip, I spotted 2 Lamborghinis within an hour… Before I went to India, I thought India is as rich as China, after my trip, I realized I was wrong. However, in the spiritual way, Indians are way richer than Chinese, since most Chinese doesn’t have a religion, but India may be the country which has the most co-existing religions. In our 12 days trip, we visited the holy places of Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, and the Bahá'í Faith.

To travel to India, people need to apply an e-visa, no matter you come from US, Canada or China. A good guide line of the application can be found here. Domestic flight tickets are bought by AG tours, and they charged us US$ 520 per person. The tour + hotel cost is US$ 1025 per person for Water and Wing who shared a twin bed room, and US$ 1348 per person for my mom and I who stayed in separate single rooms. We asked for 4 star hotels, but some of the hotels in smaller cities are disappointing. I would suggest you choose newer hotel, since newer hotels are cleaner. All the hotels provide free bottled water and buffet breakfast. Curry is used everywhere in Indian food, which means most of the meal choices are spicy, and the desserts are normally very sweet. Except lunch and dinner (normally just cost US$ 5 to US$ 10 per person), the other 2 things that are not included in the tour package are the site entrance fee, and tips for our driver (500 India rupees per driver per day). According to Google, 1 US = 64 INR. The money exchange place and hotel’s exchange rate are between 60 to 63. My mom and I only exchanged US$ 300 together and it covered all the expense during our 12 days trip (we didn’t buy any souvenir). Below is our itinerary:

Date	Major transfers	Activities	Entrance Fee	Hotel	Weather
Dec 3, 2017 (Sunday)	Arrive Delhi airport (2 @ 1:35am, 2 @ 19:15 pm)   Drive from Delhi to Agra (203 Kms/ 4 hrs approx)	For the 2 people stays in single rooms: ·         Arrive Delhi airport @ 1:35am. ·         Upon arrival meet and transfer to hotel to rest. ·         After breakfast, transfer from Delhi to Agra (Check out at 11AM in order to see sunset). ·         Upon arrival Agra check into hotel. ·         Transfer to visit Taj Mahal from river bank during sunset @ 5:23pm. ·         Transfer back to hotel. For the 2 people stays in double rooms: ·         Arrive Delhi airport @ 19:15 pm. ·         Upon arrival meet and transfer from Delhi to Agra. ·         Upon arrival Agra check into hotel and rest.	Mehtab Bagh 200 INR per person	Delhi Radisson Dwarka (2 single rooms)   Agra Howard Plaza – The Fern (1 double room, 2 single rooms)	Delhi daily high is 25 degree celsius, low is 8 degree celsius.   Agra daily high is 26 degree celsius, low is 10 degree celsius.
Dec 4, 2017 (Monday)	Fly from Agra 13:55 to Khajuraho 14:40 via Air India	Transfer to Taj Mahal when door opens in early morning (sunrise @ 6:52am). Transfer back to hotel for breakfast. Transfer to airport to board your flight for Khajuraho. Upon arrival Khajuraho transfer and check into hotel. Transfer to visit Eastern Group of temples. Transfter to South temple. Transfer back to hotel.	Taj Mahal 1000 INR per person	Khajuraho Ramada hotel (1 double room, 2 single rooms)	Daily high is 26 degree celsius, low is 11 degree celsius.
Dec 5, 2017 (Tuesday)	Fly from Khajuraho 14:05 to Varnaasi 14:55 via Jet Airways	Breakfast at hotel. After breakfast transfer to visit Western Group of Temples. Later transfer to airport to board flight for Varanasi. Upon arrival transfer and check into hotel. Later afternoon transfer to river Ganges to take a exclusive boat tour (sunset @ 5:07pm). The exclusive hired boat can be used for 2-3 hours and you can visit the Varanasi ghats etc. In the evening witness ''Aarti'' ceremony on the Ghat on the boat (starts @ 6pm). Transfer back to hotel.	Western Temple 500 INR per person	Varanasi Meraden Grand (1 double room, 2 single rooms)	Daily high is 29 degree celsius, low is 15 degree celsius.
Dec 6, 2017 (Wednesday)	Drive from Varanasi to  Sarnath (30 min) Continue drive to Bodhgaya (total 249 Kms/ 5 to 6 hrs approx)	Breakfast at hotel, no rush, can leave at 10am. After breakfast transfer to Bodhgaya. Enroute take a visit to Sarnath. Later transfer to Bodhgaya. Upon arrival check into hotel.	Buddhist Site at Sarnath 200 INR per person	Bodhgaya Regency (4 single rooms)	Daily high is 26 degree celsius, low is 12 degree celsius.
Dec 7, 2017 (Thursday)		Breakfast at hotel. Transfer to visit Bodhgaya: Morning visit the main temple including the Bodhi Tree; afternoon visit many monasteries built by different countries; Evening visit the main temple again (opens till 9pm). Transfer back to hotel.	The main temple is free, but no cellphone, camera is 100 INR each entry	Bodhgaya Regency (4 single room)	Daily high is 26 degree celsius, low is 11 degree celsius.
Dec 8, 2017 (Friday)	Fly from Bodhgaya 14:15 to Delhi 17:00 (1 stop at Varanasi) via Air India	Breakfast at hotel. In time transfer to Gaya airport to board your flight for Delhi. Upon arrival transfer and check into hotel.		Delhi Radisson Dwarka (1 double room, 2 single rooms)	Daily high is 24 degree celsius, low is 8 degree celsius.
Dec 9, 2017 (Saturday)	Fly from Delhi 11:20 to Udaipur 12:30 via Jet Airways	Breakfast at hotel. In time transfer to airport to board your flight for Udaipur. Upon arrival transfer and check into hotel. Transfer to local market to shopping. Late afternoon enjoy a sharing boat cruise on Lake Pichola (sunset @ 5:47pm). Transfer back to hotel.	Palace entrance fee 30 INR per person	Udaipur Fern Residency (1 double room, 2 single rooms)	Daily high is 30 degree celsius, low is 14 degree celsius.
Dec 10, 2017 (Sunday)	Drive from Udaipur to Ranakpur then to Jodhpur (285 Kms/ 6 hrs approx)	Breakfast at hotel. After breakfast transfer to Jodhpur (about 2 hours to Ranakpur). Enroute visiting Ranakpur Temples. After lunch continue your transfer to Jodhpur. Upon arrival check into hotel.	Ranakpur Jain Temple 200 INR per person   Cellphone or Camera 100 INR each	Jodhpur Fern hotel (1 double room, 2 single rooms)	Daily high is 26 degree celsius, low is 8 degree celsius.
Dec 11, 2017 (Monday)	Fly from Jodhpur 13:25 to Delhi 15:00 via Air India	Breakfast at hotel. Transfer to visit Mehrangarh Fort and Jaswant Thada (we went outside the desert to take a photo, 100 INR per person and 200 INR for the guide). In time transfer to Jodhpur airport to board your flight for Delhi. Upon arrival Delhi transfer and check into hotel.	Fort 600 INR per person   Jaswant Thada 50 INR per person	Delhi Radisson Dwarka (1 double room, 2 single rooms)	Daily high is 24 degree celsius, low is 8 degree celsius.
Dec 12, 2017 (Tuesday)	Fly from Delhi 08:15am to Amritsar 09:25m via Jet Airways   Drive from Amristsar to Wagha Border then back (1 hour each way)	Breakfast at hotel. After breakfast transfer to airport to board flight for Amritsar. Upon arrival transfer and check into hotel. Transfer to visit Golden Temple (Take meal at Langar inside the temple). Late afternoon transfer to Wagha Border  to see the Change of Guard ceremonies (sunset @ 5:27pm). Transfer back to hotel.		Amritsar Ramada hotel (1 double room, 2 single rooms)	Daily high is 22 degree celsius, low is 6 degree celsius.
Dec 13, 2017 (Wednesday)	Fly from Amritsar 10:10am to Delhi 11:25am via Jet Airways	Breakfast at hotel. In time transfer to airport to board flight for Delhi. Transfer to visit Bahai Temple (Lotus Temple). Transfer to visit Akshardham Temple   For the 2 people stays in double rooms: ·         Transfer back to hotel.   For the 2 people stays in single rooms: ·         Transfer to airport.	Akshardham Temple Excursion + water show combo ticket 250 INR per person (205 INR for senior 60+)	Delhi Radisson Dwarka (2 single rooms)	Daily high is 24 degree celsius, low is 7 degree celsius.
Dec 14, 2017 (Thursday)	Departure from Delhi airport (2 @ 3:10am, 2 @ 8:40pm)	2 people lives in the single rooms will departure from Delhi 3:10am to Beijing 11:25am.   2 people lives in the double room will check out hotel before noon. Transfer to see an Indian Movie. Transfer to mall to shopping. 2 people lives in the double room will departure from Delhi @ 8:40pm.	If the entrance fee or camera /cellphone fee are not listed above, then it is free.	Since my mom and I flew business class, we didn’t book the hotel for our last day.